Govt finalises two candidates for Governor State Bank of Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to appoint a permanent Governor State Bank of Pakistan days after a spike the interbank rate of US dollars and depreciation of the Pakistani rupee.

Informed sources revealed that two names have been finalised for the prominent position which will be presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he returns from an official visit of Tajikistan.

Former Finance Secretary Tariq Bajwa is the likely favourite candidate for the position. He has also been a former chairman Federal Board of Revenue and belonged to the Pakistan Administrative Services.

Bajwa retired after superannuation of June 23, and was expected to win an official position after his retirement. He is also said to have a rapport with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

He has also been a former Secretary Economic Affairs Division (EAD) before being appointed to the Fiance Division. He also worked on the recent budget for financial year 2017-.

Tariq Bajwa is the brother of Asif Bajwa, chief statistician in the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) who conducted the recent population and housing census. Another brother Dr. Rashid Bajwa is the CEO of National Rural Support Programme.

Another candidate is Dr. Waqar Masood who has also remained a former Finance Secretary. He retired from services on January 20 after attaining the age of superannuation.

The post for the Governor State Bank of Pakistan was run by an interim head Riaz Riazuddinafter the retirement of Ashraf Mahmood Wathra in April 2017.